CogBlog
In 1997 I co-founded COGBOX in with Michelle DeCol. Since then we've offered online marketing, web development and corporate and brand identity to a wide range of clients. Here I post thoughts and comments on search marketing, recent projects, and other things I find interesting.
Just finished a Google Local Search AdWords webinar, and there are some really amazing features.
Google allows you to deliver keyword targeted ads to DMA's all across the US and Canada. But, the geo-targeting doesn't stop there. You can specify areas by:
1) Pinpointing a location and selecting a radius within which to deliver ads. So, choose the center of town and deliver to everyone within ten miles if you like.
2) By specifying at least three particular points you can create a target area just for your ad delivery. This one just blows me away. For instance, say you want to deliver your message just to individuals within a 10 square block area of lower Manhattan. Just define the four corners by address, Google will convert them into longitude and latitude points, and your off and running.
Of course, there are some issues with GeoTargetting. Google relies on their distribution partners to provide them good information as to the location of particular IP addresses. So far, they only have about 5 partners on board, and this does not include AOL. But, they say they are actively working with them, but can't say exactly when they will come on board.
Occasionally, Google will deliver local ads based on the content of the user query. For instance, the query "San Francisco Restaurants" may be served local targeted ads. The only question not fully answered during the webinar had to do with this feature. If a person searches for a common location, how does Google determine which local specific ads to display. They said they would rely on their global query history to deliver the most likely option. Sounds like that hasn't fully been thought through, or was at least not fully explained.
Local ads must compete with national bids for the same phrases. But, theoretically, a targeted local specific message would see a higher click-through rate and would thus require a lower bid to rank highly. This has to do with Google's auction + relevance style ad ranking system.
So, if you're wondering how Google could justify a potential $35 billion market cap in it's upcoming IPO, try imagining millions of the world's plumbers, doctors, mechanics, restaurants and other local specific services using Google to generate new business.
Google allows you to deliver keyword targeted ads to DMA's all across the US and Canada. But, the geo-targeting doesn't stop there. You can specify areas by:
1) Pinpointing a location and selecting a radius within which to deliver ads. So, choose the center of town and deliver to everyone within ten miles if you like.
2) By specifying at least three particular points you can create a target area just for your ad delivery. This one just blows me away. For instance, say you want to deliver your message just to individuals within a 10 square block area of lower Manhattan. Just define the four corners by address, Google will convert them into longitude and latitude points, and your off and running.
Of course, there are some issues with GeoTargetting. Google relies on their distribution partners to provide them good information as to the location of particular IP addresses. So far, they only have about 5 partners on board, and this does not include AOL. But, they say they are actively working with them, but can't say exactly when they will come on board.
Occasionally, Google will deliver local ads based on the content of the user query. For instance, the query "San Francisco Restaurants" may be served local targeted ads. The only question not fully answered during the webinar had to do with this feature. If a person searches for a common location, how does Google determine which local specific ads to display. They said they would rely on their global query history to deliver the most likely option. Sounds like that hasn't fully been thought through, or was at least not fully explained.
Local ads must compete with national bids for the same phrases. But, theoretically, a targeted local specific message would see a higher click-through rate and would thus require a lower bid to rank highly. This has to do with Google's auction + relevance style ad ranking system.
So, if you're wondering how Google could justify a potential $35 billion market cap in it's upcoming IPO, try imagining millions of the world's plumbers, doctors, mechanics, restaurants and other local specific services using Google to generate new business.
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